I want to begin by saying how delighted I am to be debating Contradiction on this very important social issue. It's good to be able to argue with someone who is so philosophically inclined. For my part of the debate, I'll be arguing that same-sex marriage should be legal in the United States. Accordingly, in this debate I'm going to defend two basic contentions. First, there are no legally tenable reasons to ban same-sex marriage. And secondly, there are good reasons to think th...

I want to begin by saying how pleased I am to debate Trent on this most important of moral issues. Like my opponent, I have a deep interest in bioethics. So I'm very much looking forward to discussing the philosophical aspects of abortion with such a capable and passionate contender. In this debate I'm going to defend two basic contentions. First, there are no good reasons to think that abortion is morally wrong. And secondly, there are good reasons to think that abortion is morally permissib...

Allow me to begin by saying how pleased I am to be debating Josh Brahm. I'm sure that many of you will never get to read a more powerful case for the pro-life position than the case you will read in the course of this debate. And I only hope that I can do as well while I proceed to defend the pro-choice position. In this debate I'm going to argue that abortion is not morally reprehensible and should not be illegal, given the actual qualities that a human fetus possesses. Unlike a person, a f...

The problem of evil has been a central issue in the philosophy of religion and a major argument against theism for thousands of years. It has even been alluded to in the Bible itself in the book of Job.[1] In the story, Job, a seemingly upright man, undergoes tremendous suffering for no apparent reason and wrestles with his faith as a result. The Qur'an contains the same story, although Job is much more acquiescent and subdued in that version.[2] In classical literature, Fyodor Dostoyevsky explo...

Of all the various forms of discrimination in the world, one of the most common can be found in the way in which humans have treated non-human animals, both in history and in the present day. For as long as the historical record goes back, speciesism (i.e., prejudice on the basis of species membership) has lead most humans to treat animals as if they were mere tools for human fulfillment with no significant moral status. What's more, these views have been defended not just by the general public,...

The limited use of torture should be permitted in the United States in order to safeguard the wellbeing of the general public. This policy should be put in place because torture can be both an effective means of acquiring information, and it can be reasonably justified in some circumstances. These circumstances may include any case where tremendous amounts of human wellbeing are placed in jeopardy. Undoubtedly, some may be worried that allowing this policy would pave the way for all sorts of unn...

In the lead up to the 2008 presidential election, Senator John McCain was in need of a running mate that would serve as his vice president. And given the extremely competitive nature of that race, McCain was in need of someone that would give him his desperately needed popularity boost. From an outsider's perspective, it would seem that his advisor's criteria for deciding a vice presidential candidate was fairly straightforward. They had to pick a nominee that would sufficiently sway evangelical...

On balance, Christianity has done far more harm than good in the modern world. Its human rights record is disgraceful and the negative impacts of its dogmas have reverberated throughout history and even into the present day. As though this wasn't bad enough it also impoverishes the human condition by distracting people from their real happiness with illusory preachments of an afterlife. And despite the good intentions of many decent people it is still one of the prime sources of a considerable a...

On balance, Christianity has done far more harm than good in the modern world. Its human rights record is disgraceful and the negative impacts of its dogmas have reverberated throughout history and even into the present day. As though this wasn't bad enough it also impoverishes the human condition by distracting people from their real happiness with illusory preachments of an afterlife. And despite the good intentions of many decent people it is still one of the prime sources of a considerable a...

My goal in this debate is not to demonstrate the existence of God, but simply that his existence is _possible_. By God, I mean a being with "the greatest possible array of compossible great making properties." [1] In order for my opponent to win, he must show that it is God's existence is impossible, that is, it entails a logical contradiction (Like a married bachelor or square circle). All that is required of me is to show that the concept of God is logically coherent (That is, free of contr...